Jānis Balodis

Who are you?
My name is Jānis. I was born in December, in 1987 in Riga.

Who else are you?
Jānis2007 version was a student who started his dramaturgy and playwriting studies at the academy. Jānis2009 version, together with colleagues of directing studies, devised their first work. Jānis2012 version for the first time stepped on a stage and became a performer of his own text, although it was not a regular stage because it was a walking performance along the river, and Jānis2012 was not only himself but also a dead fish in a river.

Which version am I speaking to at the moment?
It is a continuation of version Jānis2018. Jānis2018 began with saying good-bye to previous versions on a ferry from Klaipeda to Kiel.

What was in Kiel?
Nothing yet, I drove off the ferry there and drove to Amsterdam where I studied for two years.

What is Jānis2023 up to?
He is interested in developing further practices of making theatre with communities, creating theatrical and performative setups where the border between performers and audience is fluctuating. He still is not a fan of working alone. He is more a theatre maker than a playwright.

For what he can be hired for?
Jānis can be hired for long term research works that involve working with communities. He can design concepts, processes, do interviews, dig into archives, write both poetical and socially engaged texts and create a theatrical moment for people to meet and see who we might be and who we are dreaming to be.

Excerpt from the play
THE LAST NIGHT OF THE DEER
by Jānis Balodis

Contacts:
balodis.balodis@gmail.com

This project has been developed by The Latvian Theatre Workers’ Union, as a part of the Baltic Drama Forum 2023. We would like to remind you that all rights are reserved, including the rights of reproduction of the plays in whole or in part in any form. If you are interested, please contact individual authors or The Latvian Theatre Workers’ Union (ltds@ltds.lv).